dawn of the arcana

Last week at Experiments in Manga was relatively quiet, but I did post the Bookshelf Overload for March. As mentioned in that post (and I think sometime prior to that as well), I’m currently in the process of changing jobs, so I’ve been a bit preoccupied to say the least. (If you follow me on Twitter, this largely explains my sporadic appearances there.) This week is my last week in my current position, so I’m understandably pretty busy with meetings and tying up loose ends and such. I still plan on finishing up and posting my review of the first volume of Nagabe’s The Girl from the Other Side sometime this week, but it will probably be towards the end.

Dawn of the Arcana, Volumes 7-13 by Rei Toma. I enjoyed the first part of Dawn of the Arcana a great deal and so was looking forward to reading the rest of the series. As the manga progresses it becomes less reliant on the standard fantasy tropes that form its base, although it never escapes them entirely. However, even considering this, Dawn of the Arcana is still a satisfying and enjoyable series. The story’s most dramatic plot twist I guessed at long before it was actually revealed, but there were still developments and directions that the story took that managed to surprise me. At times it felt like Dawn of the Arcana was only scratching the surface, as if the manga was only providing a summary version of a much more complicated narrative. The characters and story have depth to them, but not everything is thoroughly and completely explored, much of the more nuanced interpretations being left to the readers to form. I really liked Dawn of the Arcana. It can be heartbreaking–the characters’ struggling with circumstances that have no easy resolutions–but also thrilling as they find ways to take control of their own fates.

Murciélago, Volume 1 by Yoshimurakana. I was forewarned about the violence, gore, and otherwise explicit nature of Murciélago, so I was well aware of what I was getting myself into by picking up the manga. Murciélago is ridiculous, absurd, extreme, over-the-top, and a great deal of fun if someone doesn’t have a problem with the series’ aforementioned blood and brutality. Interestingly, the risqué lesbian sex scenes which both open and close the first volume, while being deliberately lewd, scandalous, and outrageous are also entirely consensual and in a way are bizarrely one of the more wholesome aspects of the manga. The lead of Murciélago is Kuroko Koumori, a dangerous, murderous, and lecherous woman who has been sentenced to death for her crimes. Kuroko is a monster and is portrayed as such. (She’s an awful person, but I really like her as a character.) The only reason that she’s still alive is that the police have indefinitely postponed her execution in order to take advantage of her impressive skills as an assassin. So, yeah, Murciélago definitely isn’t a series for everyone, but I certainly plan on reading more of it.

Triton of the Sea, Omnibus 2 (equivalent to Volumes 3-4) by Osamu Tezuka. It has been a very long time since I read the first half of Triton of the Sea. So long ago in fact that I had forgot that I hadn’t actually finished the series yet. Fortunately, the manga was pretty easy to pick up again. I seem to like Triton of the Sea best when the story centers its focus on family. In the first omnibus, it was Triton’s relationships with his human family that really captured my attention and in the second it was his experiences as a new father that most delighted me. (It probably didn’t hurt that the baby merfolk were super cute.) Triton of the Sea is also a story of revenge. Triton is determined destroy the Poseidon clan for the sake of his people who have been nearly driven to extinction, his desire for retribution blinding him from seeing other courses of action that might allow the two clans to establish a lasting peace. This of course only serves to continue the cycle of violence that puts him and his loved ones in danger. Triton of the Sea isn’t Tezuka’s strongest or most notable work, but I did appreciate the themes that Tezuka was exploring with the series.

Wandering Island, Volume 1 by Kenji Tsuruta. The premise of Wandering Island is fairly simple: Mikura Amelia is a pilot for an air delivery service based in the Izu Islands that she and her grandfather established together. When he unexpectedly passes away, she understandably takes it pretty hard. While in mourning she discovers package among her grandfather’s belongings with an address on it that shouldn’t exist, leading Mikura to become obsessed with a search for a mysterious, disappearing island. Although there are some wonderful scenes of Mikura in flight, there’s not really much action in Wandering Island. Instead, the manga is rather leisurely paced with a contemplative and melancholic feel to it. Wandering Island is also beautifully illustrated, Tsuruta’s artwork being one of the series’ highlights. I love how Tsuruta is able to capture a sense of place and the people who live there. I’m not sure when or if the second volume of Wandering Island will be published in English (the Japanese edition itself isn’t even scheduled to be released until next month), but I would definitely like to see it translated.

Horses, Horses, in the End the Light Remains Pure: A Tale That Begins with Fukushima by Hideo Furukawa. Fukushima has been on my mind lately which reminded me of the fact that I had yet to read Furukawa’s Horses, Horses, in the End the Light Remains Pure, one of the first major literary responses to the earthquake, tsunami, and nuclear disasters associated with March 11, 2011. The work is rather curious, but it’s also worthwhile and powerful. In part it’s a sequel of sorts to Furukawa’s novel Seikazoku (The Holy Family), which hasn’t actually been released in English. However, familiarity with that earlier work isn’t at all necessary. Horses, Horses, in the End the Light Remains Pure also delves into the history of Fukushima as a whole, both before and after 2011. But perhaps most importantly, it’s an incredibly personal memoir. Though he was away at the time, Furukawa was originally from Fukushima. Soon after the disasters struck, he traveled back to the area in order to witness the aftermath of the events himself. A fair amount of the volume is devoted to Furukawa’s profound experiences while on that trip, combining fiction, history, and biography in a compelling way.

As regular readers of Experiments in Manga know, on the last Wednesday of every month I host a giveaway of some sort (usually manga-related) for which participants have a week to submit their entries. This time around the monthly giveaway is for the first volume of Coolkyousinnjya’s surprisingly delightful Miss Kobayashi’s Dragon Maid. The winner will be announced this coming Wednesday, so you can still enter for a chance to win if you haven’t already. Also later this week, look for another guest review by my friend and fellow yuri manga fan Jocilyn. Elsewhere in the Manga Bookshelf sphere of blogs, The Manga Critic has started a monthly manga review index. There have been similar features in the past, perhaps most notably at MangaBlog, and I’ve always found them incredibly useful and valuable, so I’m glad to see Kate Dacey taking it on. Also in general, I highly recommend the content at The Manga Critic–Kate’s actually one of my major inspirations when it comes to manga blogging.

Also at Anime Boston, Viz Media made quite a few licensing announcements. Some were digital-only while others were digital-first or print-only. Here’s a quick list of the books that will eventually make their way into print: Kenta Shinohara’s Astra Lost in Space, Abi Umeda’s Children of Whales (I’m particularly curious about this series), an omnibus edition of Tsugumi Ohba and Takeshi Obata’s Death Note collecting the entire series and a bonus epilogue in a single volume, Nisioisin’s Hikaru Nakamura’s novel Juni Taisen: Zodiac Warriors (I’m not familiar with the novel, but the creators involved have certainly caught my attention), Kenji Taira’s Naruto: Chibi Sasuke’s Sharingan Legend, Kaiu Shirai and Posuka Demizu’s The Promised Neverland (which is supposed to be fantastic), a collection of nine Junji Ito stories and accompanying material selected by Ito himself called Shiver (always glad to see more Ito being released in English), Maki Enjoji’s SP Baby, and Sui Ishida’s artbook Tokyo Ghoul Illustrations.

A couple of Kickstarter projects recently launched which may be of interest as well: All the Anime/Anime Limited is joining forces with Studio 4°C to create a home video release of Masaaki Yuasa’s directorial debut Mind Game. Digital Manga has entered the fray again with a campaign to release more of Osamu Tezuka’s manga in print: Ambassador Magma, Dust 8, The Euphrates Tree, Metamorphose, Say Hello to Bookila, The Thief Inoue Akikazu, Wonder 3, and Yakeppachi’s Maria. It looks as though the print runs will be very limited and Kickstarter may be the only way to get a hold of some of the titles. (I have to admit, I certainly have my qualms about Digital Manga’s business practices in general and over-reliance on crowdfunding specifically. The quality of Digital Manga’s releases has really gone downhill over the last few years, too. Honestly, I’ve lost most of my confidence in the company as a publisher, but it’s managed not to completely go under yet.)

Quick Takes

Dawn of the Arcana, Volumes 1-6 by Rei Toma. I generally enjoy epic fantasy of the shoujo variety, so I’m not entirely sure why it’s taken me so long to finally get around to reading Dawn of the Arcana. So far, I’m enjoying the manga tremendously. Nakaba is a princess who has been married off to a prince of the neighboring kingdom despite her questionable ancestry in a half-hearted attempt to secure peace between the two countries. But instead, gifted with the ability to see both into the past and into the future, Nakaba may find herself in the unlikely position of leading a revolution. Dawn of the Arcana does come across as a rather typical example of high fantasy–all the way down to the heroine’s fiery red hair–but even though it hasn’t really made itself stand out yet, the manga is a solid series. I greatly enjoyed the manga’s mix of court and political intrigue, action, and complicated interpersonal relationships. Much like the story, the artwork tends to be somewhat standard although attractive. Toma’s backgrounds are generally fairly sparse, but the details put into things like the characters’ clothing is lovely. I definitely look forward to reading more of Dawn of the Arcana in the very near future.

Hana & Hina After School, Volume 1 by Milk Morinaga. I believe that Morinaga is currently the most well-represented yuri manga creator available in English. So far, five of Morinaga’s manga have been translated, the most recent being Hana & Hina After School. Interestingly, in Japan the manga was serialized in a magazine aimed at a general audience rather than one specifically catering to yuri fans. The titular Hana and Hina are two young women working part time at a store specializing in cute character goods even though their high school forbids its students from holding jobs. The story follows their relationship as they become friends and slowly realize that their feelings may evolve into something else. Like most of Morinaga’s other manga that I’ve read, Hana & Hina After School tends to be rather cute and sweet. The series is enjoyable and pleasant even if it is at times a little silly and somewhat unbelievable. However, the end of the first volume does introduce some sobering concerns when Hina is confronted by a few of her classmates homophobia, an unfortunate reality that many yuri manga tend to gloss over or ignore entirely in favor of pure fantasy. (Granted, that fantasy is important to have, too.)

Scum’s Wish, Volumes 1-2 by Mengo Yokoyari. I wasn’t initially planning to pick up Scum’s Wish, but after reading a few positive reviews of the series I decided to give it a try after all. The cover art of the first volume is deliberately provocative, but the manga isn’t nearly as salacious as it might imply. In fact, the series can actually be surprisingly contemplative. Scum’s Wish is a manga about unrequited love. Almost every character in the series is pining for someone with whom an involved romance would seem to be impossible or at least inadvisable, resulting in a complex web of personal relationships fraught with loneliness and anguish. (There is one heck of a love polygon going on in Scum’s Wish and nearly everyone who is introduced is connected to it somehow.) Hanabi is in love with Narumi, her childhood friend who now also happens to be her homeroom teacher. Mugi is in love with Akane, a music instructor who used to be his tutor. Recognizing that they are suffering under very similar circumstances and hoping to ease some of the pain, Hanabi and Mugi agree to find comfort in a relationship together. Neither one of them is in love with the other, but they are both aware of and take advantage of that fact.

Deep Red by Hisashi Nozawa. Although perhaps best known as a screenwriter, Nozawa was also recognized as an accomplished novelist. Deep Red, which earned Nozawa an Eiji Yoshikawa Prize in 2001, is his first novel to be released in English. Kanako is the only survivor of the mass murder of her family, simply because she happened to be away on a school trip when her parents and two younger brothers were killed. Understandably, their deaths have left a great wound, but Kanako isn’t the only one left troubled and hurt–the life of Miho, the daughter of the murderer, has also been irrevocably changed. At times, Deep Red is uncomfortably voyeuristic and there’s a peculiar fixation on Kanako’s body and sex life with her boyfriend. I was never entirely convinced by Kanako as a character, either. However, Deep Red does provide an interesting psychological exploration of hate, anger, and misplaced revenge. The novel is instantly engaging. However, the middle portion of the narrative is repetitive and does drag a fair bit; I admittedly started to lose my interest and patience with the story. But once Kanako becomes obsessed with and decides to pursue Miho, Deep Red picks up speed again and the novel’s ending is very satisfying.

These are both great series from the Shojo Beat line that are concluding! I always feel a bit wistful when reading final volumes, but fortunately I am quickly distracted by new manga series.

Dawn of the Arcana Vol 13 by Rei Toma

In this volume of Dawn of the Arcana, Nakaba and Caesar are reunited, while Loki makes an unexpected demand – to be given the kingdom of Senan so humans and Ajin can live separately. Nakaba is absolutely against this, seeing a way for her and Caesar to bring both people together, but Loki leaves, determined to secure a kingdom for the Ajin. Nakaba is heartbroken, starting to adjust to life in Belquat as Caesar’s queen yet again. She closes herself off from her magical powers, not wanting to suffer again if she sees Loki in a vision. One of the things that I’ve always liked about this series is that it is a bit more about the world the characters live in than the romantic issues that they need to work through. So Nakaba and Caesar set to rebuilding their world without Ajin, as the country of Senan becomes more closed off and mysterious. When an almost grown-up Rito shows up with a message from Senan, this sets off a series of surprising revelations that can change how readers interpreted the story from the very beginning. I have to admit, I was genuinely surprised by this concluding plot twist.
Dawn of the Arcana was one of those series that grows on readers gradually. I remember enjoying but feeling slightly ambivalent about the first volume, but after reading a few more I knew I’d be reading the rest of the series. While there is plenty of romantic angst, the focus on world buliding, geopolitics, and human-Ajin race relations made the story seem more expansive than usual for a shoujo fantasy series.

Midnight Secretary Vol 7 by Tomu Ohmi

Seven volumes seems like just the right length for this manga about a dedicated secretary and her vampire boss. In this volume Kyohei is formally banished from the vampire clan because he refuses to part from Kaya. But as they start to figure out how to live on their own, they have to start working on ways to deal with complications like Kyohei’s regular blood supply and the loss of business that occurs when Kyohei’s new company starts running into trouble. There’s an additional issue as Kaya’s blood starts to turn toxic to Kyohei, further straining their relationship. There’s never any doubt that this manga is headed to a happily ever ending for this unconventional couple, and readers wanting to see Kaya and Kyohei set up as a strong couple facing their future together won’t be disappointed. There’s an extra bonus chapter that flips the gender dynamics of the whole book, as vampire Marika finds her “Midnight Butler.” This was a great bonus story, and it was interesting to see Marika in a different context, because she’d only showed up as a friend of Kyohei’s before. Overall, this was an extremely satisfying josei-disguised-as-shoujo-series, and I’m delighted that I can now switch over to Ohmi’s Spell of Desire for similar supernatural romance!

Dawn of the Arcana is a series that I think is best experienced in mini bursts of 2 or 3 volumes, simply due to the deliberate pace of the storytelling in the manga, as well as the fact that it sometimes takes a half volume or so for my brain to kick in with my memories about what happened in the previous volume due to all the relationships developing and the shifting nature of the geopolitical situations happening in Toma’s world. Usually I’m far too impatient to let the volumes pile up like this though!

After 10 volumes, the new status quo for red haired socially outcast with alarming powers of precognition Princess Nakaba and formerly arrogant but really a nice guy who has a social conscience inspired by the power of love Prince Caesar is to be separated. Nakaba has returned to Senan, determined to do some ruling in her own right, and Caesar is back in his home country of Belquat, dealing with his evil family. This volume shows the emotional impact of Nakaba’s power, the Arcana of Time, as she is determined to save the outcast child of a village that is in the direct path of an avalanche. This becomes a story that further explores the position of the humanoid animal hybrid race called ajin, as Lala the child with bunny ears is actually the product of a human/ajin encounter, leading to her abandonment. Lala has one human friend, and Nakaba’s ever present ajin protector Loki is there to save the day as always.

Loki always seems to have a new revelation every few volumes, either about his emotions or background, and a secret is revealed in this volume that shows that he and Nakaba have even more in common than I previously thought. While there’s the more conventional romantic storyline with Caesar and Nakaba, I actually find Nakaba’s relationship with Loki much more interesting, as they trade off protector duties in unexpected ways. Nakaba decides to take power in her home country, and her choices are largely driven by wanting to prevent Loki from going too far for her.

Dawn of the Arcana Vol 12 by Rei Toma

Everything keeps zipping along, as now that Nakaba and Caesar are in power in their respective countries, they have a chance to finally see each other again, when Caesar is ordered to invade Senan. Nakaba’s been looking in on Caesar and remarks that he’s going to start a revolution, so she’s “Here to lend a hand.” Nakaba’s power also provides Toma with a great way of providing more backstory about her characters. Nakaba looks back at Caesar’s father when he was young, even though Loki warns her that it might be difficult for her to see because she’s “too kind”. Nakaba sees King Guran’s first meeting with his unconventional first queen, the commoner Sara. The unhappy ending of this romance provides a reason for why King Guran might have ended up so twisted and bitter, but it doesn’t prevent a confrontation that is sure to cause even more fallout to happen in the volumes ahead.

One of the things that I really like about the art in this series is that it is so clear and easy to read. Toma might not have the most intricate backgrounds or innovative approach to paneling, but I’m never left puzzled about action scenes or finding that I have to go back and reread a page to make sure I understand the sequencing. The wordless exchanges between Nakaba and Caesar and the sidelong glances between Loki and Caesar do more to express the tensions between the characters than several pages of dialog. Overall, these were two very solid volumes in a fantasy series that is always surprising me with unexpected depths. I’m looking forward to the next few volumes to see what will become of Nakaba, Caesar, and Loki (well, really mostly Loki).

MELINDA: There’s a lot to choose from at Midtown Comics this week, yet even with so many lovely choices at hand, I’m going to risk sounding like a broken record and cast my vote once again for the latest volume of GTO: 14 Days in Shonan. I just can’t help it! This series has charmed me so completely and unexpectedly that it easily grabbed a spot at the top of my list of favorites in 2012. Volume seven comes out this week, and I can’t wait to read it!

MICHELLE: I picked Sailor Moon last week, so I’ll pick something else. Man, there is a lot of good stuff on that list, but like Melinda, I am going to have to go with an old favorite.

Skip Beat! in its 30th volume still feels fresh to me, and it’s a series that I am already looking forward to rereading and it’s not even done yet. That doesn’t happen to me very often!

SEAN: Indeed, lots of stuff I could pick, but I keep coming back to Devil and Her Love Song. It’s a rare shoujo series where I want to see the villain redeemed as much as the heroine, but that’s where I’ve ended up with this one, where I find myself really hating what Anna is doing while desperately wanting someone to break through to her. And that’s not even getting into the giant mess that Maria’s life is. Combine that with a wicked sense of humor at times, and it’s almost enough to get past the fact that their horrible teacher is STILL THERE.

ANNA: I’ll go with Dawn of the Arcana, Vol 8, a rare shojo series that focuses more on interesting world building and political machinations than romance.

Dawn of the Arcana continues to be an entertaining fantasy series in a subtle and well-executed way. This volume has our adventurers in the desert kingdom of Lithuanel. Nakaba is caught up with a struggle between the princes Akhil and Azhal. They encounter a new type of ajin in the form of a group of terroristically inclined snake-people. Caesar has to prepare to return to his own country, and he attempts to push Nakaba away in an attempt to protect her from getting hurt. Nakaba has grown into a much more confident woman, and she’s not afraid to invoke her power when she needs to in order to help her friends.

One of the things I’m always wanting from this series is more Loki. Nakaba’s devoted dog-like ajin protector has always seemed to have hidden depths and motivations and Nakaba’s power shows her a series of visions that demonstrate just how far Loki is willing to go to to protect her. Nakaba gains a new appreciation for how much information he shielded her from when she was younger and more innocent. Eight volumes in, and I’m still appreciating the clarity of Toma’s art. The paneling had really developed well to showcase both action sequences and the inner feelings of the characters. Seeing a younger Nakaba in flashbacks makes the reader appreciate the bond between her and Loki, and appreciate how far she’s come since she became Caesar’s princess.

MICHELLE: I am going to a pen show! Specifically, a fountain pen show!

MELINDA: That sounds like a lot of fun! Um. For you. :D

MICHELLE: Mean! :) I am legitimately all asquee about it!

Is there any manga you’re asquee about this week?

MELINDA: I am happy for your squee! And yes, actually, I’m fairly asquee about all the manga I read this week.

First, this week I finally sat down with volume one of The Drops of God, the popular wine manga that’s been a New York Times bestseller for its US publisher, Vertical, Inc. Manga bloggers have been raving about this title since it was released, and our own Kate Dacey named volume three as a recent Pick of the Week. With all that hype, I figured it was inevitable that I’d be disappointed, but I actually had a lot of fun.

If there’s anyone left who is unfamiliar with the story, it begins as young salesman Shizuku is informed of the death of his estranged father, a legendary wine critic. While Shizuku rebelled by snubbing his father’s passion to go work for a beer company, his father apparently spent his final days formalizing the adoption of a young, hot-shot wine critic, Issei. Now Shizuku must compete with Issei for his father’s legacy by embarking on a quest to identify thirteen specific wines, including one known as “Kami no Shizuku” or “The Drops of God.” Finally discovering a love of wine after all these years, Shizuku throws himself wholeheartedly into the task with the help of a gifted sommelier-in-training, Miyabi.

Two things struck me immediately as I read this volume. First, as a fairly casual (if enthusiastic) wine drinker, and certainly a novice when it comes to French wine, I was impressed by how much the Kibayashi siblings (the brother and sister team behind the pen name Tadashi Agi) were able to teach me about wine without making me feel like I was watching a documentary. Secondly, though I know that this series ran in Morning, *wow* does it read like a shounen manga. From the characters’ nearly supernatural wine-tasting abilities to the protagonist’s pure-hearted launch into his father’s quest, this manga would not feel out of place in the pages of Weekly Shonen Jump. You know, except for the wine.

I had a lot of fun with this, as I mentioned in the beginning, though I’ll admit to a slight sense of weariness while plowing through some of the particularly over-the-top wine-tasting sequences, in which a sip of wine sends our hero into scenes of flowing fields and beautiful women he can’t *quite* reach until he finds the perfect one. Fortunately, there’s enough emotional truth to be found, especially in some of the manga’s primary relationships, to keep things grounded through its flights of fancy. Overall, I enjoyed myself immensely.

MICHELLE: I have the first three volumes right next to me, just waiting to be read. It sounds like the perfect blend of two stories I enjoy—seinen food manga, like Ekiben Hitoritabi, and sports manga wherein the hero discovers a passion and talent for something he had previously spurned and then tries to get better at it, like Slam Dunk.

MELINDA: Yes, I think with your love for shounen sports manga, you’ll find The Drops of God pretty irresistible. Also, I should mention that there is are at least a couple of fairly wonderful female characters, which is always a big draw for me.

So, is there anything besides pens eliciting your squee this week?

MICHELLE: Yes, though I think I will save the manga that pleased me most for my second pick and instead talk about volume two of A Devil and Her Love Song.

That isn’t to say that I disliked this, of course. The series—about Maria Kawai, a sharp-tongued girl in search of acceptance at an unremarkable high school after being expelled from a prestigious one—continues to be interesting and entertaining. In this volume, we begin to see how Maria’s personality can have a positive effect on those around her, as she indirectly influences two classmates to stop hiding beside unassuming façades and express their true selves. Of course, Maria can’t forget being told that she taints people, so she attempts to distance herself in an attempt to protect them. This can sometimes be irksome in a heroine—the whole “he/she is better off without me” routine—but it works for me here, since Maria has a legitimate reason for feeling this way and isn’t just being melodramatic.

While I definitely like Maria and the two boys most interested in her, the thoroughly over-the-top mean girls in the class leave me cold. I’d much prefer a nuanced antagonist, but instead they’re just as vile as can be. I can’t retain my composure when faced with the odious homeroom teacher, though—he is really, really horrible, especially for someone who’s in a position to be a positive influence in Maria’s life, if only he weren’t such a git.

I have a feeling volume three will be pretty awesome—Maria’s been tasked with coordinating her class’s entry into a choral competition—so, despite my small complaints, I’ve no intention of dropping the series.

MELINDA: I think I liked this volume more than you did overall. I was especially a fan of Tomoyo, the girl whose passive allegiance to the class’ mean girls caused so much trouble for Maria in the previous volume. She’s shaping up to be one of the series’ most interesting characters, I think. But wow, can I relate to your hatred for the homeroom teacher. He’s one of those characters I just want to reach out and punch with all my strength.

MICHELLE: Really, I didn’t dislike it! And you’re absolutely right about Tomoyo. I would love to see Maria realize that good things are happening to the people she has supposedly “tainted.” And I’m sure the series will go that route and will therefore be satisfying. And if that teacher could get sacked in glorious fashion, that would be icing on the cake!

What else did you read this week?

MELINDA: Well, you know I’ve been on a Keiko Kinoshita kick lately—a minor addiction that’s been primarily enabled by the Digital Manga Guild, which has been licensing her works left and right. Though I’m admittedly disappointed that I won’t be able to collect these in print, there is something pretty satisfying about being able to make an impulse purchase online and find myself reading the book on my iPad seconds later, which is what I did earlier this week with The Boyfriend Next Door, localized by the DMG group Kagami Productions.

Matsuda has finally moved to Tokyo to start university (after failing his entrance exams the year before). His big city apartment life gets off to a rocky start as he takes an immediate dislike to his new neighbor, Yaotome, a distant, fairly scruffy guy who appears to be raising his young daughter, Hana, alone. Fortunately, neighborly relations improve fairly quickly, and though Yaotome is definitely a hard nut to crack, Matsuda does eventually discover a few things about him, including the fact that he’s gay and that Hana is not his daughter.

Fans of Kinoshita’s work will not be surprised to discover that this is merely the simplest version of what is actually a much more complicated situation, and much of the manga involves unraveling the real truths behind Yaotome’s emotional unavailability. This volume is textbook Kinoshita in terms of its quiet delicacy and complex, slow-building romance, and it’s very satisfying on that front. What’s a little less satisfying, is that unlike most of her work that I’ve read, it feels a bit unfinished.

After discovering just how broken Yaotome really is, Matsuda decides he’s going to break through with the sheer power of devotion, though he’s obviously in for a long haul. Frustratingly enough, that’s where the story ends. And if I hadn’t been reading this on my precious, precious iPad, there’s a decent chance I might have thrown it across the room.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m a fan of ambiguous endings, and this volume is extremely satisfying all the way through. I’d recommend it without question. It’s just that I can’t help feeling that the real story was just getting started as I reached its final pages, and I was genuinely heartbroken not to be able to continue.

MICHELLE: Despite all of your praise, I have still never managed to find the time to read anything by Kinoshita. This does sound fairly captivating, though—is it an earlier work, perhaps? That might account for its unfinished feeling.

MELINDA: It’s kinda midway I think, but it’s certainly possible that she was asked to wrap it up suddenly, or perhaps never even got the chance to really wrap it up at all. Fortunately, You & Tonight (which is even better) is by most accounts still running, so I’ll let later volumes of that soothe my addiction as they arrive.

So, what else have you got for us this evening? And are you feeling asquee?

MICHELLE: I am! That’s because Dawn of the Arcana is a series that gets better with every volume! This week, I read volume three of this relatively new fantasy from VIZ’s Shojo Beat imprint and loved it without reservation.

For those who might not be aware, this is the story of Nakaba, princess of a struggling land called Senan, who is the product of her mother’s relationship with a man her family did not approve of. She’s allowed to live in the castle once her mother dies, but never accepted, and is eventually married off as a pawn to one of the princes of Senan’s rival country, Belquat.

Accompanying her is Loki, the faithful servant who has guarded her since infancy. Nakaba initially despised Caesar, her new husband, but he proves to be different than most of the people of Belquat, and she can’t help feeling something for them. But she feels terribly guilty about it since Loki still blames Belquat for the massacre of the village where he and Nakaba used to live, and is plotting revenge.

Man, this series is really getting good! We haven’t had too many shoujo fantasies released here, and those that were (primarily by CMX) were episodic comedies. Dawn of the Arcana is shaping up to have a really interesting political plot that is further complicated by Nakaba’s compelling dilemma—let herself be happy and in love with Caesar, or harden her heart and allow Loki to follow through with his plans. Not to mention the fact that Nakaba has inherited the special power possessed by the villagers and that a foreign prince, Akhil, not only wants her to use it on his behalf but is possibly capable of helping her develop it.

This actually reminds me a little bit of Basara, which coming from me is a major compliment. I don’t know whether Nakaba is going to lead any full-scale rebellion against a repressive government, but it doesn’t seem out of the question. Too, I can totally imagine her swaying Caesar to fight by her side. Does such epic greatness await? I hope so!

MELINDA: I agree that this series really is getting good! I was so pleased to finish volume three with none of the reservations I’d had after volumes one and two. It really has hit his stride, and I’m enjoying it completely. I’ve been reminded a bit of Basara as well, though I’m not quite as intimate with that series as you are (a temporary circumstance, I promise). I’m glad you’ve been enjoying this too!

Disclosure: Melinda Beasi is currently under contract with Digital Manga Publishing’s Digital Manga Guild, as necessitated for her ongoing report Inside the DMG. Any compensation earned by Melinda in her role as an editor with the DMG will be donated to the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund.

This week, Melinda, Michelle, Kate, and Sean take a look at recent releases from Yen Press, Viz Media, and Kodansha Comics.

13th Boy, Vol. 10 | By SangEun Lee | Yen Press – I swear, this series just keeps getting better and better. About the only thing keeping it from a perfect score in my book is the occasional obnoxious behavior from protagonist Hee-So, but the well-executed story and character growth more than make up for that. In this volume, Beatrice the erstwhile cactus strives to establish independence (and learns the price Whie-Young pays for using his power), Hee-So does her best to see Beatrice as an ordinary boy with legitimate feelings for her, Whie-Young is given the chance for a normal lifespan if he meets a specific condition, and one of the aspects of that condition falls in to place. This last is a great twist that leaves me honestly rather terrified about what’s in store for these characters in the final two volumes—which I need right now, please—but I wouldn’t have it any other way. – Michelle Smith

Afterschool Charisma, Vol. 5 | By Kumiko Suekane | Viz Media – For most of the series, Kai, St. Kleio’s only “ordinary” student, has remained an enigma. Volume five at last sheds light on Kai’s origins with a lengthy flashback in which he discovers that he, too, is a clone. These scenes bristle with tension; one can feel Kai’s frustration as he struggles to assert his unique identity, in spite of the fact his clone looks and acts just like him. Kai’s backstory serves another important purpose as well, offering several important clues about St. Kleio’s true purpose. Though volume five is one of the most information-dense installments of Afterschool Charisma to date, crack pacing, surprise twists, and a cliffhanger ending make it a swift and engaging read. – Katherine Dacey

Bamboo Blade, Vol. 11 | By Masahiro Totsuka and Aguri Igarashi | Yen Press – The start and end of this volume focuses on the self-doubts and backstory of Saya, the large tsukkomi of our little group of kendoists, and makes you think that this volume will be about the main cast. But just like Vol. 10 focused its attention on Ura and her backstory, here we get introduced to more participants in the television show that Kojiro’s team is going to be doing. There’s not much new here – the jealous actress who realizes that her co-star can outshine her in any athletic event has been seen in manga before this – but it’s still a good mine for humor, especially watching her flip moods and beat the hell out of her manager (and later yell at him for sexism, probably the manga’s best moment). Still, as enjoyable as this has been, and as much fun as Totsuka-san can make things, I’m really ready for the TV show to actually happen. I hope we see it in Vol. 12.-Sean Gaffney

Bleach, Vols. 36-37 | By Tite Kubo | Viz Media – Volume 36 is the best volume of Bleach since the conclusion of the Soul Society arc, as it takes us away from the interminable battle to rescue Orihime from Hueco Mundo and focuses instead on the history of enigmatic Kisuke Urahara and the first, secret betrayal by certain villainous Soul Reapers. Though it would’ve been cooler to have this information ten or fifteen volumes ago, it’s plenty engrossing as it is and even seems to reinvigorate the action when we return to present day. Volume 37 offers more awesome interaction between Orihime and her de-facto warden, and though I still don’t care much about Ichigo, I welcome the chance to see bishounen like Yumichika and Hisagi again, and actually find myself somewhat eager to continue the series. I haven’t felt that way about Bleach in a long time. – Michelle Smith

Dawn of the Arcana, Vol. 2 | By Rei Toma | Viz Media – The tension ramps up in this series’ second volume, as Princess Nakaba becomes more aware of her growing feelings for her new husband, as well as just how deeply those feelings conflict with her loyalty to long-time servant Loki. While this series is shaping up more and more to be another shoujo love triangle, it does have enough genuine intrigue to set it apart from the crowd. This volume also delves further into Nakaba’s preternatural abilities, which are perhaps more interesting than they first appeared. But what really makes this volume work is Nakaba’s inner conflict. Though there’s nothing really new going on there, it’s written from a place of real emotional truth, and that makes this series well worth reading. Toma’s expressive artwork is a highlight as well. Tentatively recommended. – Melinda Beasi

Dengeki Daisy, Vol. 8 | By Kyousuke Motomi | Viz Media – Well, if you thought things would be easily resolved after last volume’s cliffhanger, think again. Kurosaki is quite aware that the message sent to Daisy was a fake – he says so on Page 21. But it doesn’t take much to make a broken soul shatter again, and Kurosaki is determined to remove himself from Teru’s life forever. Teru, after a brief chapter of self-pity and moping, isn’t having any of this, and asks everybody else to explain exactly what happened with Kurosaki and her brother. The explanation is the rest of the volume, and it’s by turns uplifting and crushing, as with most tragic backstories in shoujo. The drawback, of course, is that if you read this manga for the fun romance and humor between its two leads, there is precisely nothing here for you. Read it anyway, it’ll make the eventual reunion, presumably in Vol. 9 or 10, that much sweeter.-Sean Gaffney

Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney, Vol. 3 | By Kenji Kuroda and Kazuo Maekawa | Kodansha Comics – The main reason for Phoenix Wright fans to pick up this third volume is featured prominently on the front cover – Franziska Von Karma is the prosecutor this time around, and that means a lot of foolish fools and a lot of whip jokes – none better than at the start, where her side job is revealed. In fact, that seems to be a problem with most of these Ace Attorney mangas – the setup is invariably more interesting than the trial. Anyone reading this for the mystery will be disappointed – it’s obvious. Those who read it to see more Phoenix adventures should be pleased – there’s even a few shoutouts to the Apollo Justice game, as Phoenix gets an eerily accurate fortune given to him. There’s also some nice art here, showcasing the dramatic poses and plot revelations in ways the writing can’t quite match up to.-Sean Gaffney

Toriko, Vol. 8 | By Mitsutoshi Shimabukuro | Viz Media – The eighth volume of Toriko offers readers an entertaining respite from hand-to-hand combat, as Toriko and Komatsu visit Chef Setsuno, one of four “gourmet living legends” in the world. Setsuno is a hoot: she’s a demon in the kitchen, dispatching a chicken with ferocious precision, slicing vegetables mid-air, and preparing a broth of such purity that it’s invisible to the eye. Lest anyone confuse Toriko for Oishinbo, however, this pleasant interlude is swiftly followed by an action-packed trip to the Antarctic, where Toriko wrestles sharks, serpents, and evil gourmands for the chance to taste century soup, a dish that only materializes once every hundred years. Subtle it isn’t, but the characters’ goofy antics and goofy powers (“Flying fork!” and “Long-range bazooka breath!” were my personal favorites) mitigate against macho excess. – Katherine Dacey

MICHELLE: This being a grown-up thing is for the birds; I take it back.

MELINDA: I am so there with you. Revolt against adulthood! Irresponsibility now!

MICHELLE: Clean none of the things!

MELINDA: Hallelujah!

MICHELLE: Oh, but if we abjure all responsibility, Off the Shelf won’t get done.

MELINDA: Oh. Crap.

MICHELLE: Maybe we can clean *one* thing.

MELINDA: *sigh* I guess so.

MICHELLE: You go first. I’ll provide moral support.

MELINDA: Hmph. Fine. Well, I finally got a chance to read the latest from CLAMP, volume one of Gate 7, out recently from Dark Horse.

CLAMP is, perhaps, an acquired taste. Most people I talk with either love them dearly or roll their eyes heavily at the mention of their name. I’d classify myself in the “love them” category, though I certainly have preferences among their titles. I love Tokyo Babylon more than X. I love xxxHolic more than Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle. I love Legal Drug, but I’m lukewarm on Kobato. Most of the series I like best share quite a bit in common, and fortunately for me, Gate 7 falls very much in line with the titles I most enjoy.

Chikahito is a high school student with a keen interest in Japanese history and folklore. On a solo trip to Kyoto—something he’s dreamed of since he was a child—a chance encounter with three supernaturally-talented personages brings him in touch with an aspect of ancient history he definitely wasn’t looking for. There’s a lot of plot here that I won’t get into, but suffice it to say that it’s all very, very…CLAMP.

The Kyoto group features a number of CLAMP staples, including two beautiful young men with an ambiguous relationship and an adorable, androgynous youth who can’t get enough of Chikahito, whom (s)he manipulates into becoming part of their daily lives. Chikahito is eerily similar to xxxHolic‘s Watanuki, in both looks and personality, but with Watanuki’s spastic tendencies drastically dialed down. It’s as though CLAMP was simply not done with Watanuki, and found themselves embracing the opportunity to recreate him in a new and improved form. As always, there is a lot of ominous-sounding language and pretty, pretty artwork.

Frankly, this works really well for me. I’m not inclined to object to being given too much of a good thing, nor am I repelled by familiarity in such a cozy form as this. For me, Gate 7 is the sequential art equivalent of a grilled cheese sandwich with a bowl of tomato soup—unsurprising but deeply comforting and delicious.

There are definitely weaknesses in this series’ first volume. Like most of CLAMP’s supernaturally-enhanced universes, this one requires quite a lot of exposition, and the pace and plot suffer for it, especially early on. But after all this time, CLAMP’s style is undeniably solid, and it’s hard not to feel that the story is in good hands, even in its uneven first chapters. I know my kind of CLAMP when I see it, and Gate 7 is unquestionably my kind of CLAMP.

MICHELLE: I’m happy that you liked it so much! I haven’t closely read other reviews, since I still need to read it myself, but I had the distinct impression that folks were unenthused by it. It’s good to know that’s not a universal reaction.

I must ask… if there’s a Watanuki stand-in, is there someone else who functions as his Doumeki?

MELINDA: No, at least not yet. Interestingly, Hana (the character who clings to him from the start), latches on to him because of their similarities, not their differences. So he doesn’t yet have someone who serves as his complement in that way. I’ll be interested to see if that remains the case.

I realize I’m an easy target for a series like this, since it caters to some of my particular tastes in CLAMP, but I’m sure I’m not alone!

So what have you been reading?

MICHELLE: A couple of very different things!

First up is the debut volume of Shugo Chara Chan!, a four-koma series starring the guardian characters from Shugo Chara!. I misspoke on a recent Pick of the Week, in which I stated that this manga is by Peach-Pit, because it actually isn’t. It turns out that various other shoujo mangaka at Kodansha have contributed to it, including Ema Toyama, whose I Am Here! has been mentioned in this space before.

Like Shugo Chara! before it, Shugo Chara Chan! is rated teen (13+), which is even more inexplicable in its case because all of the material in would be fit for—and perhaps best enjoyed by—a seven-year-old. Sample plots include:

* Su discovers a secret box containing photos of Amu’s crush.
* Amu threatens to boil the guardian eggs for oversleeping.
* Ran eats all the bread at the picnic.
* Miki makes an ice statue of Amu for her birthday and then it melts in gross fashion.

Hilarious, no? Lest it seem as if I read all of this with a curmudgeonly grimace plastered on my face, there actually were a couple of things that made me smile, but they’re completely random and may appeal to only me, like, “The guardian characters meet a cute slug.” It’s certainly not brilliant fare, but it was kind of fun and I will probably keep reading it.

One thing I did want to point out is that while the main body of the volume is mostly immune from Kodansha’s questionable editing practices, the notes in the back of the book are oddly messed up. There are loads of missing letters, resulting in sentences like:

“The person in the last panel is AI O STA UST, also known simply as AI O. He is the vocalist for the rock band “B EAK .” Gee, how helpful!

MELINDA: My. Well. I admit I’ve been iffy on whether to spend my money on this series. I’m a huge fan of Shugo Chara! as you know, but I wasn’t sure that a 4-koma for little girls would resonate with me as well as a series for little girls apparently still does.

MICHELLE: Yeah, if you’ve got a choice between spending your money on this short little volume or, say, picking up the second volume of Princess Knight, I’d say the choice is clear.

What else have you been reading?

MELINDA: My second read this week was volume one of Rei Toma’s Dawn of the Arcana, the latest from Viz’s Shojo Beat imprint.

As the volume opens, red-headed Princess Nakaba is being introduced to the kingdom of her new husband, Prince Caesar, an arrogant, possessive ass, to whom she’s been married in order to maintain the tense peace between their societies. Always devalued, even amongst her own, for the color of her hair, Nakaba is pretty much resigned to an early death, finding comfort only in the company of her longtime servant, Loki, who was born to a race even more reviled than redheads. Is the devoted Loki her one true love, or can she find happiness with her hard-hearted prince?

Like Gate 7, much of this will sound familiar to even occasional fans of shoujo manga. The setup is so standard, in fact, that there is hardly any question at all that we’ll soon discover the soft side of Nakaba’s husband, who is almost undoubtedly her ultimately destined love interest. And did I mention that she’s got a secret, supernatural power? Seriously. On the surface, this thing reads like paint-by-numbers pseudo-romantic shoujo, along the lines of dubious current titles like Stepping on Roses. Fortunately, there’s some real freshness to the series that isn’t immediately apparent from a snarky plot summary.

Though the first volume’s focus on Nakaba’s “power” is not the author’s strongest choice, there are some nuances to the characterizations (particularly that of asshole prince Caesar) that keep things from sinking into pure cliché. Princess Nakaba is fearless and coldly stoic, without an ounce of typical shoujo optimism. And the political aspects of the story offer the potential for some heroine bad-assery and possibly civil war, which is always welcome in my book.

Despite its surface familiarity, there’s a real spark of life in Dawn of the Arcana. I’m looking forward to more!

MICHELLE: I always love political scheming in a fantasy series, so I look forward to seeing what Toma is able to make of it. Too, I especially look forward to a “coldly stoic” heroine. There aren’t enough of those!

MELINDA: Agreed! We see both spunky and ditzy in many variations, but “stoic” is rare indeed!

So what else have you got for us?

MICHELLE: An odd yet interesting one shot from One Peace Books! Breathe Deeply, by husband-and-wife manga team Yamaaki Doton, promises on its back cover to “force you to forget what you know about manga.” That’s not exactly true for the widely read manga fan, but the story does have a general-audience appeal and could help dispel the notion that manga is all big eyes and spiky hair.

Yuko Kazama is a very sick girl with two boys in love with her. To one, Sei, she has confided that, when her health fails, she doesn’t want a transplant (believing it would cause suffering to the donor) and would prefer to simply disappear. To the other, Oishi, she has revealed her desire to live and her fear that Sei will think poorly of her if she changes her mind. When Yuko passes away, Sei insures that her wishes are carried out, only to have Oishi blame him for her death.

Fast forward fifteen years, and now both men are scientists with different approaches to curing heart ailments. Sei has developed a synthetic gel that mimics heart functions while Oishi has made stem-cell discoveries. There is much talk about the validity of each approach (ethics versus progress), and quite a few shady hospital administrators who are depicted as fudging the line between “brain dead” and “could recover” in an effort to harvest organs for donation. In addition, both men have their moment as the genius in the spotlight, and we see how quickly such status can be lost due to personal conflicts.

Because of the pace of the story and the obsessive focus of the leads, it’s a bit difficult to get to know the characters and as a result the story is less emotionally affecting than it might otherwise be. Revelations that could be shocking are taken in stride, and readers never really feel the anguish in certain key moments. It’s like the story’s being told from a distance.

I do have to mention an irksome flaw in the script: it’s full of run-on sentences. When a speech bubble contains a complete thought, it’s not really noticeable that it’s lacking a period. But when two sentences collide without warning the results can be jarring. Here’s an example:

True success relies not only on intelligence, but on our humanity as well we can expect great things from you, Takano.

Ultimately, Breathe Deeply is likely to leave an impression, but not liable to leave you sniffling.

MELINDA: The run-on sentences sound truly irksome, but I admit the story sounds interesting. I enjoyed One Peace Books’ earlier release, Tenken, and it’s nice to see them putting out more manga, even if it’s not quite the game-changing release the back cover promises.

MICHELLE: I’d be curious to see what you’d think of it. I’m sure you could explain its appeal more eloquently than I can. :)